Stella McCartney, Jeffrey, La Perla, Alexander McQueen — luxurious shopping havens that define the stunning new face of the Meat Market on 14th St. However, beyond any doubt the biggest customer draw belongs to the old face: Western Beef Inc., standing on the corner of Ninth Ave. in all its stubborn grittiness, a reality check playing off the pricey chic of its rent neighbors.

But Western Beef won’t be around much longer — at least not on 14th St. But in an exception to most sad gentrification stories, the supermarket will be reborn, if not in the Meat Market itself then nearby, the company revealed last week.

“It’s going to be a good thing for the neighborhood — a new store with the same, if not more, variety, depending on how the store lays out,” explained Santino Montalbano, head of Western Beef’s real estate division. The supermarket “wants to keep our present store open and build the other store at the same time,” says Montalbano. “We want to stay in the neighborhood.”

The feeling is mutual. Unique among Downtown supermarkets, Western Beef combines low prices and a vast selection of food and household supplies. Its immediate customer base includes the residents of Robert Fulton Houses, spanning Ninth to Tenth Aves. from 16th to 19th Sts., approximately 920 units with mostly four-person families and some single-person households. The latter tend to be seniors and long-term public-housing residents.

“Basically, most of the people are low-income and the market meets their needs,” according to Miguel Acevedo, a member of Community Board 4. Rent probably takes 50 percent of their income. What’s more, the cost of living is rising and so are gentrification pressures, he added.

As for residents of Fulton Houses, “everyone shops here,” said Western Beef customer Avonnia Baxter.

Taconic Investment Partners is the “contract holder” for the Western Beef property, according to Taconic spokesperson Paul Pariser. He would go no further, however, beyond saying, “This is a good story, but not one I can talk about now.”

Acevedo isn’t cheering yet. “Taconic wants to go high end,” he remarked. “Basically they’re forcing Western Beef out.” (On the other hand, some Community Board 2 preservationists are said to be irked that the supermarket let itself be bought out instead of staying put several more years until its lease runs out.)

The next big step, Acevedo of C.B. 4 reveals, is a sit-down with all interested parties, including the incoming Borough President Scott Stringer and other elected officials, so that Western Beef can continue serving the Chelsea community. “If Western Beef goes into a new building it might not be able to afford staying,” he noted. “We’d need the help of city officials to negotiate with any developer.”

It’s possible to find customers at Western Beef who have traveled from Midtown, Brooklyn, Soho and Tribeca. “The city is boutiqued enough,” asserted Jeff Bozler, who had come from Tribeca.

For some, Western Beef is survival. Horatio St. resident Paul Haug is H.I.V. positive, and although he’s in the AIDS Assistance Program, his medication costs are huge. He considers himself a “low-income hairdresser — if you don’t work at a top-tier salon you don’t make much money.” He held up a package of chicken parts: it cost him $3.99 a pound instead of the $8.99 at other supermarkets.

Several possible locations are mentioned as possibilities for the Western Beef move, including 16th St. east of 10th Ave. behind the Chelsea Market, or west of Ninth Ave. somewhere above the Meat Market. But Western Beef has an eye on one of the empty buildings in the Meat Market proper, although there may not be any unclaimed space, according to Janel Patterson, a spokesperson for the city’s Economic Development Corporation.

Meanwhile, so many projects are planned, wished for or in the works for the city-owned square block bounded by Little W. 12th, Washington and Gansevoort Sts. and the West Side Highway — the Dia Museum, the High Line park, meatpackers and just maybe Western Beef, not to mention, a hotel one block north — it gives new meaning to the designation “mixed use.”

lofter1

December 11th, 2005, 11:10 AM

Balducci’s to reopen at 14th Street and Eighth Avenue.
Full page ad in the Sunday NY Times states: "Opening Thursday, December 15th" ...

Village Nibbler

By John McGarvie
The Villager
Volume 75, Number 29
December 7 - 13, 2005

http://www.thevillager.com/villager_136/villagenibbler.html

Balducci’s is set to reopen imminently, in the landmark bank building on the northwest corner of 14th Street and Eighth Avenue, along the border of Chelsea and the West Village. I called Balducci’s headquarters in Maryland to get the exact date, but was told only that the store will open in December.

They could not tell me the day, and I was not surprised. I walked by the location Thanksgiving week, and just by looking through the giant windows I could tell the renovation of the interior was nowhere near completion.

A week later I decided to snoop around the site again, but this time I talked to someone who knows what is going on inside the building: a construction worker. He told me the target date was December 14th, but was doubtful it would happen and again, I could see why. We were standing at the main entrance looking inside, and it was obvious that a lot of work remains. He also said Balducci’s wants the store open by Christmas. That goal seems more likely.

It will be great to have Balducci’s back in the neighborhood, but this time it faces stiffer competition. In my next column, I will examine how the 14th Street corridor, from Union Square to the Meatpacking district, has become a serious shopping destination for foodies. The old Balducci’s squandered a loyal clientele, including this former customer. I will be curious to see how the new Balducci’s fares.

ablarc

December 11th, 2005, 08:38 PM

Need to build something on that crappy parking lot at Eighth and Greenwich Avenues.

czsz

December 11th, 2005, 09:00 PM

I so can't wait for the Meatpacking District to fall out of style. It looks too much like a cowtown to represent Manhattan.

lofter1

December 11th, 2005, 09:57 PM

cowtown
I'm confused ... :confused:

Is it this :

http://www.thevillager.com/villager_136/beef.gif

Or what ????

czsz

December 11th, 2005, 11:07 PM

Kinda...the wide streets and the low-slung buildings...including a few with false-front, windowless facades.

The sky was gray when we headed over to fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg (http://www.dvf.com/)'s new headquarters at the southwest corner of Washington and 14th Streets. The 1887 landmark building, built by Jacob Astor as a home for nearby pier and market workers, most recently belonged to Gachot & Gachot, the meatpacking company that distributes steaks to Peter Luger's (http://www.peterluger.com/fortune.cfm). After a complete overhaul (it was even joined with the building next door), it will house von Furstenberg's design and administrative offices, including a 5,000 square-foot showroom, a black-box theater and retail space.

WORKac (http://www.work.ac/)'s Amale Andraos and Dan Wood are designing the space, which features a "stairdelier" lined with Swarovski crystals on vertical cables and two heliostat mirrors that will collect and distribute light throughout the building.

http://www.gothamist.com/attachments/jen/2006_10_dvf3.jpg

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the newest addition to Meatpacking mayhem is the 25-foot "diamond" that protrudes from the roof and will be a source of light for every floor. Made of transparent and etched translucent glass, it's laminated, insulated, has operable, electronic panels and will glow at night. Shipped over from Spain in pieces, the diamond required negotiations with the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission, according to Wood, who described the building as a model for adaptive reuse.

http://www.gothamist.com/attachments/jen/2006_10_dvf2.jpg

From the roof of the building that houses Hogs 'N Heffers, among others, we snapped pictures of the diamond as it was going up. The process looked almost as intricate as the building of a monument of sorts, one that perhaps celebrates von Furstenberg's enduring wrap dress.

More images of the DVF HQ building from the WORKac (http://www.work.ac/) website ...